A heavyweight Renaissance art city with colossal palaces, ringed by its intact medieval walls, Ferrara jumps out on the route between Bologna and Venice. But, like any city situated in close proximity to La Serenissima ('The Most Serene' Venetian Republic), it is serially overlooked, despite its Unesco World Heritage status. As a result, Venice avoiders will find Ferrara's bike-friendly streets and frozen-in-time palazzi relatively unexplored and deliciously tranquil.
Historically, Ferrara was the domain of the powerful Este clan, rivals to Florence's Medici in power and prestige, who endowed the city with its signature building – a huge castle positioned slap-bang in the city centre. Ferrara suffered damage from bombing raids during WWII, but its historical core remains intact. Of particular interest is the former Jewish ghetto, the region's largest and oldest, which prevailed from 1627 until 1859.
These are the top experiences and sights in Ferrara, according to Lonely Planet.
